Councils are being reminded to submit notices of motions for this year's National General Assembly of Local Government (NGA), which will be held in Canberra on 18 - 21 June.

The NGA is an opportunity for councils to identify matters of national relevance to the sector and seek the Assembly's support via notices of motions for these matters to be considered by ALGA as national policy.

Due to a relatively small rate base, with minimal shift in population and limited opportunities to dramatically increase this rate base, Balonne Shire Council is reliant on government assistance, in particular the Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs), which makes up an estimated 25% of its annual recurrent revenue.

Rural and remote councils in Queensland are facing economic stress through the rural downturn and drought conditions and the decision to freeze the Financial Assistance Grants places further pressures on already stretched resources.

Advertisements

The 2017 ECOCITY World Summit will bring together an outstanding gathering of the world's leading urban policy makers, practitioners and researchers. The Summit will create many exciting opportunities to discuss the climate change, sustainability and resilience challenges facing cities - and the crucial role which cities can play in meeting these challenges.

An exciting array of speakers will lead the conversations including:

The Hon Al Gore: Former US Vice President and Chair of The Climate Reality Project

The Summit Program has a strong focus on Urban Leadership and City Practices and provides an ideal opportunity for you to learn the latest in practical solutions to urban sustainability challenges from the very best in the world. Build your national and global professional networks and participate in practical workshops and masterclasses. Learn skills to take back to your home jurisdiction and enhance your professional development.

Following on from the resolution passed by the National General Assembly of Local Government to support the Summit we welcome your involvement.

Early bird registrations savings are now on offer so visit www.ecocity2017.com for further information.

Get on Track for Trails Success

Are the trails in your area bringing maximum benefit to ratepayers?

Have you ever wondered what trails could do for your region or holiday destination?

Do you currently have existing trails and want to know how to improve visitation or find out the economic benefit trails are providing?

Would you like to connect with trails experts from across Australia and New Zealand?

If you answered YES to any of these questions then attending the 2017 Sustainable Trails Conference is a MUST! Places are limited - so act quickly!

Give your staff back their time

If timesheet management is costing your organisation a fortune in time and money, then it’s time to check out a whole new way of doing things with elementTIME from Adroit Creations. We provide an easy to use solution – quickly, easily and affordably.

Built specifically for government organisations, elementTIME offers:

Quick set up – a solution that is ready in minutes, not months

Minimal training – intuitive, clean design so staff are up and running quickly

Support ALGA's campaign!

ALGA has launched a campaign to end the freeze and restore indexation to local government financial assistance grants in the federal budget this May.

It is important that your council actively engages in supporting ALGA in this national campaign. ALGA can make the national arguments and make the national representations at the Federal level, but nothing gets the attention of politicians, the party room or party leadership better than local stories from the front line of local community governance - you.

The team at ALGA has also prepared a council advocacy kit - available at councils.endthefreeze.com - that includes templates, background information and talking points to assist your campaign at the local level to ensure the Government keeps its promise to restore indexation to FAGs in this year's Federal Budget.